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Employee Assistance Programme

The HealthHero Assist Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) is a confidential and independent counselling and information service. Support is free and confidential.  

They provide our staff with:  

  • Telephone counselling Support 

  • Practical information and guidance for personal and work-related issues.  

  • Signposting to Specialist Agencies 

  • Support for Managers 

  • The Wellbeing Hub 

  • General Health & Wellbeing Support 

  • Legal Information 

  • Money & Debt Support 

Contacting HealthHero Assist

Call 0800 358 5997 or +44 141 271 7555  (landline alternative for international and/or mobile use) to speak to an advisor.

Lines are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Calls are confidential - Confidentiality may only be broken in a situation where you or someone else is in danger. 

The Wellbeing Hub

The Wellbeing Hub is an excellent source of information and guidance on a very wide range of mental health and wellbeing related topics. You can book appointments with a counsellor via the online portal and access live chat for service enquiries. The Wellbeing Hub also has access to monthly newsletters, insightful articles and short videos, there are lots of ideas on ways to improve your day-to-day wellbeing as well as links to other really useful resources.  

How to access the Health Hero Wellbeing Hub?

To access the Health Hero Wellbeing Hub go to https://wellbeing.hub.healthhero.com 

  • Click register a new account.
  • You will then be asked to enter the university’s username - UOMStaff and password - Wellbeing, followed by your email address and a preferred display name.
  • Set your unique password and click “register”.
  • You will receive an email to the address you registered - click on the link within the email to validate and complete the registration process. 

Your account remains confidential and the University of Manchester does not receive any information as to who has created an account on the Health Hero Wellbeing Hub

Additional support during times of crisis

Your Questions

What happens when I call the helpline?

You will initially be given a list of options to choose from. Your call will then be answered by a clinical co-ordinator, who will assess your needs and direct you to the appropriate service. If the right person isn’t available they will arrange for you to be called back at the best time for you. Although some basic details are taken from everyone that calls the service, this information is not provided to the University.

What happens if there is no clinical team member free to take a call?

Should this happen, you will be given an option to either remain on hold until a clinical team member becomes available or to leave a voicemail to request a call back. Alternatively you can access the Wellbeing Hub to book a callback from a counsellor.

 

 

Who can use the service?

All directly employed members of staff can use the service. 

Other users who are eligible:

  1. Employees can utilise the service with their spouse/live-in partner for couples counselling, which is included in your EAP offering. Here, you discuss relationship matters with a qualified counsellors as part of your solution-focused, structured counselling sessions.
  2. Adult dependant children (aged 16 - 23 years old) are eligiible for ad-hoc, telephone counselling support. Please be aware this is single-session counselling support only. 

Is the service confidential?

All calls are confidential and the University of Manchester is not provided with any details as to who has accessed the service or the Health Hero Wellbeing Portal, only the number of people utilising the service. The only exception would be where there was a serious risk of harm to the caller or others. In such circumstances the counsellor will always seek guidance before breaching confidentiality.

 

Who is providing the telephone helpline?

The 24/7 helpline is provided by HealthHero Assist. Calls will be handled by an experienced advisor or therapist who will offer support in confidence.

What happens if I request counselling?

The counselling team will complete a short assessment with you over the phone to understand the support you need, this is usually between 30-45 minutes. This is an opportunity for you to discuss what you would like to use the counselling for and what issues you may want to focus on with the sessions available (up to 6 sessions per year). 

Once the assessment is complete, the counsellor will discuss with you whether the counselling provided by Health Hero can meet your needs. If agreed between you and the counsellor, a referral will then be made and you will then be contacted by a different counsellor who will book in to meet with you for up to 6 sessions. This means you will meet with the same counsellor, usually on a weekly basis and at the same time each week.

Who is the counselling provided by?

HealthHero Assist counsellors are all professionally qualified and very experienced. They usually have a lot of life experience and have worked in different types of organisations so that when they are supporting you, in a single session or structured counselling, they are also able to help you consider ongoing support options for when your counselling comes to an end with the Employee Assistance Programme.

What information is provided to the University?

The only information the university will receive is in the form of high level statistical and reporting information, essentially to confirm whether the service is being used and the types of calls. No individual identifying information is provided.

I’m deaf or hard of hearing, how do I access the helpline?

If you have a speech impediment or hearing difficulty, please download the Relay UK App to contact the service.

What other options are there to make the helpline accessible?

HealthHero Assist have a Live Chat function where you can ask general questions about the service.

Please note you cannot receive counselling sessions via the Live Chat function.